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| | Share on FB: Judicial Politics Leave Some Plaintiffs in Limbo, YNN Austin Capital Tonight | |
| | Excerpted from: Judicial politics leave some plaintiffs in limbo, YNN Austin Capital Tonight: "A personal tragedy has turned into a very public legal fight for one Texas family. It's a story that may shed some light on weaknesses within the state's judicial system. Imagine not being able to remember where you were sitting at a restaurant after a simple trip to the restroom. That’s the life Michelle Gaines leads today. A traumatic brain injury suffered in a devastating car wreck in 2006 robbed her of a healthy mind. Then, a jury in her community awarded her $8 million, before a court of appeals overturned it. Now, the Texas Supreme Court is refusing to hear the case." | | Laws/Cases | |
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| | Court Case Not the Way Whataburger Likes It | |
| | Whataburger last week sued NCO Financial Systems, saying the collection efforts of one of the nation's largest debt collectors "amount to a campaign of harassment against Whataburger that is unreasonable ... and reckless." In the lawsuit, Whataburger claims the calls from NCO have kept coming despite a July 16 cease-and-desist letter to the company. More than 50 calls from NCO have been made to the restaurant company's toll-free number since June, the suit says. NCO's "disruptive conduct causes phone lines to ring, keeping the phone lines as well as Whataburger employees occupied and prohibiting (them) from performing their respective duties," the suit claims. Patrick Danner, Houston Chronicle 08/24/2012 | | Read Article: Houston Chronicle | | Man 'Wrongfully' Shot by Chicago Police Files Suit | |
| | A Chicago man has filed a lawsuit against the Chicago Police Department and six officers, saying he was shot twice by officers "without cause" last August. The plaintiff claims he was harassed, chased and shot by officers for no reason, and then falsely charged with aggravated assault as officers tried to justify the shooting. The suit is seeking unspecified damages. Bridget Doyle, Chicago Tribune 08/24/2012 | | Read Article: Chicago Tribune | | Judge Awards $1 Million in Police Brutality Suit | |
| | A judge in New York has ordered the state to pay $1 million to a Syracuse man who was brutally assaulted by a state trooper 11 years ago without cause. The judge said the officer had a history of targeting the plaintiff, attempting to arrest him on drug charges but never finding any evidence. In the attack, the victim suffered a closed head injury, two herneated disks in his back and permanent blurry vision in one eye. John O'Brien, The Post-Standard – Syracuse, NY 08/23/2012 | | Read Article: The Post-Standard – Syracuse, NY | | Issues | |
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| | Hotel Owners' Anger Flares Over Oil Spill Deal | |
| | Owners of small hotels on the Florida and Texas Gulf coasts say a proposed settlement unfairly excludes thousands in the tourism industry who suffered economic damages in the 2010 oil spill. The Asian American Hotel Owners Association says the settlement between BP and a committee representing claimants sets arbitrary geographic boundaries including the entire coasts of Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana, but only portions of the Texas and Florida Gulf coasts. Emily Pickrell, Houston Chronicle 08/24/2012 | | Read Article: Houston Chronicle | | Healthcare | |
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| | Report: Dangerous Docs Not Sanctioned | |
| | Fifty-eight percent of Texas doctors who have been sanctioned for serious offenses by health care entities, mainly hospitals, during the past two decades have never been disciplined by the state medical board, according to information from Public Citizen. In a letter and accompanying report , Public Citizen presented its findings of an analysis of 21 years of data in the National Practitioner Data Bank via a letter to Gov. Rick Perry on Wednesday. Staff, KXAN Austin News 08/24/2012 | | Read Article: KXAN Austin News | | Insurance | |
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| | Restoring Depleted TWIA Funds to be Addressed This Session | |
| | Texas lawmakers, in the legislative session kicking off in January, will take another stab at putting the bruised and battered Texas Windstorm Insurance Association back on its feet. There is much disagreement on how to do that, since it’s a very complicated and contentious issue. But whatever emerges from the 83rd Texas Legislature in terms of tweaking TWIA, windstorm insurance policyholders in the state’s 14 coastal counties plus parts of Harris County will end up paying more for their policies, whether it’s a little or a lot. At the very least TWIA policyholders will see a 5 percent increase already approved for next year. STEVE CLARK, Brownsville Herald 08/24/2012 | | Read Article: Brownsville Herald | | Labor/Employment | |
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| | Horrible Labor Conditions Outlined in Lawsuit | |
| | Four migrant workers in Florida have filed a lawsuit against a local labor company alleging horrible mistreatment and abuse. The suit claimed workers were promised salaries of $30,000, but instead were forced to work off "the costs of bring them into America;" the plaintiffs also say the labor company owner threatened to kill them if they fell sick or stopped working, and refused to give them water. The lawsuit is seeking unspecified damages. Jane Musgrave, Palm Beach Post 08/24/2012 | | Read Article: Palm Beach Post | | TEXAS LAWYER CASE SUMMARIES | |
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| | Tyler Court of Appeals: Torts | |
| | The appellant sued his downstream neighbor, claiming a road built by the appellee caused flooding that damaged the appellant's property. Evidence is factually sufficient to support the jury's determination that Barnes is not liable to Mathis for creating a nuisance. Mathis v. Barnes, Tyler Court of Appeals, No. 12-08-00340-CV, 08-15-2012 Texas Lawyer, Texas Lawyer Opinions (TTLA Members Only) 08/24/2012 | | Read Article: Texas Lawyer Opinions (TTLA Members Only) | | Texas Supreme Court: Torts | |
| | A bicyclist was injured when her bike struck a sunken area in a roadway, causing her to fall. Because she has no evidence that the City knew about this hazard before her accident, it was error to deny the City's motion for summary judgment. The court also disagrees with the court of appeals' finding that the sunken area in the road was a special defect because it "was in the same kind or class as an excavation or obstruction and posed an unexpected and unusual danger to ordinary users (bicyclists) of the roadway." City of Denton v. Paper, Texas Supreme Court, No. 11-0596, 08-17-2012 Texas Lawyer, Texas Lawyer Opinions (TTLA Members Only) 08/24/2012 | | Read Article: Texas Lawyer Opinions (TTLA Members Only) | | Wrongful Death | |
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| | Taser Death Lawsuit Tossed by Judge | |
| | A judge in Ohio has dismissed a lawsuit against the city of Cleveland and the police department over the death of a local man Tased by officers in 2010. The suit was seeking $25 million in damages, but the judge ruled the officers' conduct "did not rise to the level of reckless disregard." Officers said they used a stun gun on the man after he "became combative" during a drug arrest. Wire Report, The Sacramento Bee 08/23/2012 | | Read Article: The Sacramento Bee | |
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